I. Field & Utility Summary
The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of apple tree. The apple tree is particularly useful in that it can be propagated clonally and used as a rootstock or root system for apple trees as well as for interstems of apple trees.
II. Cultivation Summary
‘G.969’ originated from a planned cross in 1976 in Geneva, N.Y.
III. Comparisons
The seed parent Malus domestica ‘Ottawa 3’ is a dwarfing rootstock, i.e., trees grown on this rootstock are 30 to 35 percent the size of a standard self-rooted seedling tree. ‘Ottawa 3’ is known to induce good precocity to the scion (i.e., the ability to induce early reproductive development in the scion) and has high yield efficiency. ‘Ottawa 3’ plants produce no spines, are fairly well anchored, are a very cold hardy rootstock and have resistance to crown and root rot caused by Phytophthora cactorum. However, ‘Ottawa 3’ is susceptible to the woolly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum) and to fire blight (Erwinia amylovora).
The pollen parent Malus robusta ‘Robusta 5’ is a non-dwarfing rootstock, i.e., trees on this rootstock are the same size as a standard self-rooted tree. ‘Robusta 5’ has a spreading tree architecture. ‘Robusta 5’ does not induce precocity to the scion and is not highly yield efficient. Juvenile plants of ‘Robusta 5’ produce many spines. ‘Robusta 5’ breaks buds very early in the spring and is winter hardy. It is resistant to powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) and fire blight, and is immune to the woolly apple aphid. Further, ‘Robusta 5’ has shown tolerance to the specific replant disease complex.
The ‘G.969’ apple rootstock of the present invention has a combination of qualities that distinguishes it from its parental plants (i.e., ‘Ottawa 3’ and ‘Robusta 5’). For example, although ‘G.969’ has dwarfing properties derived from ‘Ottawa 3’, it is different from its dwarfing parent (i.e., ‘Ottawa 3’) because it produces a tree that is 45 to 55 percent of the size of a standard self-rooted seedling tree. Thus ‘G.969’ belongs to a different dwarfing vigor class than its ‘Ottawa 3’ parent. In particular, ‘G.969’ has dwarfing characteristics that are similar to the industry standard of Malus domestica ‘Malling 7’. ‘G.969’ shares similarities with ‘Ottawa 3’ in that they both induce precocity to the scion, are highly yield efficient, winter hardy, and fairly well anchored.
With regard to its ‘Robusta 5’ parent, ‘G.969’ is distinguishable in that it is a dwarfing rootstock and is highly yield efficient, while ‘Robusta 5’ is not. However, like ‘Robusta 5’, ‘G.969’ is resistant to fire blight, powdery mildew, and the woolly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum). ‘G.969’ promotes spreading habit of the scion like ‘Robusta 5’. In addition, ‘G.969’ has been shown to have some tolerance to the replant disease complex.
As discussed above, ‘G.969’ is most similar to ‘Malling 7’ in terms of dwarfing class. However, ‘G.969’ is more precocious and yield efficient than ‘Malling 7’.
With regard to apple tree rootstock ‘G.210’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,337), a variety from the same parents as ‘G.969’, ‘G.210’ produced trees that were approximately 10 to 15% more vigorous than ‘G.969’, when grown in the northeast United States. ‘G.969’ showed higher cumulative yield efficiency than ‘G.210’, when grown in the northeast United States. ‘G.210’ is more efficient at absorbing and translocating sodium to the scion leaves than ‘G.969’.
With regard to apple tree rootstock ‘G.935’ (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 17,063), a variety from the same parents as ‘G.969’, G.969′ is resistant to wooly apple aphid (Eriosoma lanigerum) and ‘G.935’ is susceptible.
IV. Breeding History
In the spring of 1976, pollen from a Malus robusta ‘Robusta 5’ apple tree was applied to emasculated flowers of a Malus domestica ‘Ottawa 3’ apple tree in Geneva, N.Y. In the fall of 1976, approximately 500 seeds resulting from this pollination were extracted from mature fruit derived from this cross. In the winter of 1976-77, the seeds were stratified and planted in large flats under conditions effective to germinate seeds and obtain seedlings. When germinated seedlings were about 2.5 cm tall they were inoculated with a mixture of isolates of the fungus Phytophthora cactorum (the causal agent of crown and root rots). The flats were flooded to mid-hypocotyl level and kept at 23° C. for one week. Surviving seedlings were transplanted into individual pots.
In the summer of 1977, each of the transplanted seedlings was inoculated with approximately 106 colony forming units of the Ea 273 strain of the fire blight bacterium Erwinia amylovora by inserting a 26-gauge hypodermic syringe needle into the shoot tip. The seedling designated as #969 was one of the survivors of this battery of inoculations from the same cross. All the surviving plants were transplanted in Geneva, N.Y. in the fall of 1977 and allowed to grow side shoots for propagation/evaluation. In 1980, ‘G.969’ was evaluated for rooting ability, lack of spine production, and low root brittleness in a layering bed (stool bed). In 1983, 4 finished trees with ‘G.969’ rootstock were planted in a first test orchard in Geneva, N.Y. with Malus domestica cv. ‘Golden Delicious’ grafted onto this rootstock as the scion cultivar. This rootstock performed well (top 20% of many rootstocks tested) in these first test trials. In the Spring of 2002, ‘G.969’ and other experimental rootstocks were planted as finished trees with two scion varieties in Geneva, N.Y. and in 2003 and 2004 the orchard was spray inoculated while in bloom with fire blight and all trees of ‘G.969’ survived indicating good resistance of the rootstock in an orchard environment. In August of 2002, several rootstock liners of ‘G.969’ were budded with 15 different scion cultivars to test graft union compatibility—the test results showed that ‘G.969’ was compatible with all the cultivars tested. In summer 2007, 20 rootstock liners were inoculated with two different strains of fire blight (ten liners per strain) in Geneva, N.Y. As a result, the apple rootstock ‘G.969’ was classified as immune to one of the strains tested and moderately susceptible to the other strain of fire blight. In the fall of 2005 and 2006 tree architecture of nursery trees using ‘G.969’ as root stock was measured and found to promote a spreading habit (flatter branches) on diverse grafted scion varieties.
V. Asexual Reproduction
Asexual reproduction of ‘G.969’ has been achieved using the traditional method of clonal propagation. In particular, the original seedling of the ‘G.969’ was planted in Geneva, N.Y. and allowed to develop into a “mother plant.” The ‘G.969’ mother plant was then used to obtain rooted liners using conventional layering procedures. The resulting liners were then planted in a row to generate a layering stool bed (also referred to as the “mother stool bed”). The living tissues (i.e., leaves, stems, roots, buds, and spines) of the mother stool bed were observed to be identical to secondary and tertiary stool bed plants. In addition to conventional layering, ‘G.969’ variety has been asexually reproduced by root cuttings, by budding and grafting onto seedling and clonal rootstocks, and by tissue culture.
VI. Stability
Observations of trees from clonal propagations indicate that all trees have proven true to type and identical in all appearances to the original tree.